Valley of Vision: Vain Service (Devo)

The Banner of Truth Trust ^ | 1975 | Arthur Bennett

[Gamecock]

O my Lord,

Forgive me for serving thee in sinful ways –

by glorying in my own strength,

by forcing myself to minister through

necessity,

by accepting the applause of others,

by trusting in assumed grace

and spiritual affection,

by a faith that rests upon my hold on Christ,

not on him alone,

by having another foundation to stand upon

beside thee;

for thus I make flesh my arm.

Help me to see

that it is faith stirred by grace that does the deed,

that faith brings a man nearer to thee,

raising him above mere man,

that thou dost act upon the soul

when thus elevated and lifted out of itself,

that faith centres in thee as God all-sufficient,

Father, Son, Holy Spirit,

as God efficient,

mediately, as in thy commands and promises,

immediately, in all the hidden power

that faith sees and knows to be in thee,

abundantly, with omnipotent effect,

in the revelation of thy will.

If I have not such faith I am nothing.

It is my duty to set thee above all others

in mind and eye;

But it is my sin that I place myself above thee.

Lord, it is the special evil of sin

that every breach of thy law arises

from contempt of thy Person,

from despising thee and thy glory,

from preferring things before thee.

Help me to abhor myself in comparison of thee,

And keep me in a faith that works by love,

and serves by grace.

[Gamecock]

This prayer is taken from a collection of Puritan works titled "The Valley of Vision." First published in 1975 by Arthur Bennett, the book has been used by many Christians for prayer, as a devotional, or just plain reflection.

I plan to post one each day and hope that each of you will benefit from a brief glimpse into the mind of the Puritans. If you would like on or off of this ping list please let me know.

[Gamecock]

VoV Ping

Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.
Augustine of Hippo (354-430)

[Gamecock]

I suppose it would help if I pinged everyone. < blushing>